In my February Julep Maven box I received the Freedom top coat; it's supposed to provide you with a gel-like shine and longer lasting manicure without requiring an LED or UV lamp. You can either let the top coat air dry for 5 minutes or cure it under a regular 60 watt light bulb for 2 minutes. Now, I have been using Seche Ultra-V since May 2012 which is when I purchased my UV lamp. I must say that I am pleased with the results of Seche Ultra-V, but now that I have Freedom I decided to to put them to the test to determine which is better in terms of shine/glossiness and wear.

On 1/31/13 I applied Freedom on my right (which is my dominant hand) and Seche Ultra-V on my left. I plan to keep the mani on until the evening of 2/4 (sooner if I get a lot of chipping) in order to give a true comparison. I will be keeping track of the shine and chipping and taking photos every other day to provide a visual comparison.

Application Review:
Both have a very fluid consistency and apply well. Seche Ultra-V has a small brush typical of most polishes but Freedom has a much larger brush, even larger than the regular Julep polish brushes. Freedom's brush is close to the size of the Wet N Wild Mega last brushes, minus the curvature, it has a straight edge.

When applying Freedom, I would recommend wiping the brush very, very well because a lot collects on the brush which can cause you to apply too much. And that is exactly what happened when I applied it to my first 2 nails. This does not happen with Seche Ultra-V...I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the size of the brush, but it seems like that could be a factor.

In terms of shine/gloss I can't see any difference; I did cure them both under my UV lamp. I did the recommended 2 minutes at first under the UV light, but neither was completely dry, I was able to put an indentation on my nails so I cured them for an additional 3 minutes. I usually cure Seche Ultra-V for 5 minutes anyway. The need for additional time could have been due to the thick layer of Freedom I applied or the thicknes of the layers of the green polish; as those were the nails that weren't dry. When I redo my nails on 2/4 I will use Freedom again, applying a thinner coat to see if it will actually cure in 2 minutes.